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This chapter includes the useful phrases one would use at the beginning of most medical encounters. From the time the patient presents to a health care facility, multiple people in various roles may interact with the patient at some point before the patient is actually seen by the health care provider. This section is designed for the front-end staff involved in a patient encounter. Triage questions will be particularly useful for nurses either in the emergency room setting or in an ambulatory urgent-care setting. Check-in and registration questions are somewhat self-explanatory and will likely be used by receptionists and business and financial office personnel. The section on vital signs, while consisting mostly of commands, will be most relevant to medical assistants, nurses, and, in some instances, even providers.
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The section on medication history is critically important for any type of encounter. Not only will the front-end staff ask these questions, but the health care provider will also find these questions quite useful in most patient encounters. Verifying correct medication use will decrease the risk of many potential medical errors. And many Spanish-speaking patients, unless they are asked directly, are hesitant to volunteer that they are taking other non-prescribed medications, over-the counter or otherwise.
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